Hidden lies
by Egyptian Princess of 1290 bc
Summary: Tempe wakes up in the hospital with no memory, only to find out she's married, but not to who everyone thinks. she must remember in order to save her friendship and marriage PLR R&R BB&BD CH10 UP!DONE!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Bones.

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Temperance opened her eyes and quickly closed them unable to bare the pounding in her head from the light and bright walls. She didn't know where she was, but knew she was in a bed and the smell of medications and cleaner reeked in the air.

As she lay there unable to move and the side of her head pounding more than ever she slowly raised her left hand, but found it stuck to something, or better yet someone. She carefully tried to open her eyes again and succeeded in keeping them open.

Looking around she followed her arm down to her hand and then up the arm of the hand that held hers. Her gaze met a sleeping man, but not just any sleeping man, her partner Booth; he sat in a chair next to her bed and held her left hand in his.

Tempe looked from Booth around the room and saw she was in the hospital with an  
IV in her arm and a few monitors beeping. She moved slightly and tried to pull her hand away to sit up, but only succeeded in waking the sleeping man next to her.

Booth slowly opened his eyes and cursed himself for falling asleep, he was supposed to stay up and watch over Tempe as she slept, but failed. As Booth opened his eyes he began to wonder what caused him to awake and looked to his side and found Tempe sitting up in the bed looking at him curiously.

"Oh my god. You're awake." He whispered looking at her.

Tempe sat there starring at him, what did he mean by that? Why was her head pounding? Why did she feel like she was hit by a truck? And why on earth was she in the hospital?

"Are you alright?" he asked getting up. "Do you need anything at all?"

Tempe tried to open her mouth to speak and tell him she was fine and wanted answers, but as she moved her mouth all the came out was a low whisper that didn't make any sense. Instead she shook her head.

"You're not alright? What's wrong?" he asked jumping to her side.

Tempe sat there, how could she answer him? So instead she tried to talk again.

"fine." She mumbled her voice a low croak.

"You're fine?" he asked and she nodded. "Do you need anything?" she shook her head 'no' and watched as he nodded and walked over to her right side. "I'm going to get Angela, she should be here by now ok?"

Tempe nodded and watched as he turned to leave, but was confused as he turned back around and kissed her on the forehead. Tempe sat there her eyes wide at the fact her partner had just kissed her. Was she alright? She sat there wondering for a few seconds before a loud voice pulled her out.

"Oh my god! Bren, sweetie are you ok?" Angela rushed in and embraced her friend hugging her close.

"fine." Tempe managed to get out, her voice a little clearer but not by much.

"Oh, Jeeze, sweetie you scared us all." Ange continued to talk and sat in the chair Booth had occupied moments ago.

"Why am I here?" she asked.

"Well, you were found unconscious; Booth had to bring you here." She said stating it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He found you in your apartment on the floor bleeding and beaten."

"By who?"

"We don't know, but David should be here soon." Ange said getting up from her chair and walked outside. "I'll be right back."

Tempe sat there thinking. The beating and unconscious state would explain why she was here; but why did Booth kiss her?

No sooner had she asked herself that question did David walk in and embrace her, kissing her on her cheek and checked her face.

"God, Tempie, they really did a number on you." He said starring at what assumed was her beaten face.

"I don't know what that means." She muttered pulling away, not liking their closeness.

"Never mind." He said pulling her close again and hugged her tightly, kissing her lips as he pushed her out to arms length and sat next to her.

"So David where were you when this happened?" Booth asked walking in the room and starring at him.

"What! Are you kidding me? You think I did this?" David asked automatically jumping up to face Booth.

"No, I just wanted to know where you were. Why, got something to own up to?"

"I was at the store getting her something she needed to cook dinner with." David said.

"Really? Isn't it unusual in the few minutes you were gone she was attacked?" Booth asked, both men were close to the other starring them down.

"Are you telling me it's my fault this happened?"

"No, David I'm just wondering how this could have happened and how I found her and not you."

"Look, Booth I don't know where you're going with this." David said as Tempe sat in her bed watching the display take place in front of her, she wanted to know what was going on too. "But the thing is I didn't do this, she's my wife for heavens sake."

Tempe sat in her bed, mouth open as the words echoed in her head_, 'she's my wife for heavens sake.' _

"Wife?" she blurted out and watched as Angela, Booth and David starred at her. Tempe looked to every one of them and then down to her left hand and found that on the finger between her pinky and middle sat a diamond wedding ring. It was true, she was married to David.

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Well? Any good, should I continue or just stop while I still can? Please tell me, I'm sorry if this isn't all that good I just came up with it the other day while I was in Maui. Thanks. Or as they say in Maui, Mahalo.


	2. Chapter 2

Angela looked over to Tempe curiously and watched as she starred at her wedding ring. She had never seen her act like this before and the way she questioned her marriage one could tell she was very shocked.

"Tempie, are you ok?" David asked rushing to her side to make sure everything was fine.

Tempe lifted her head from her hand and looked David in the eyes; she jumped back at the close proximity between them, and then sat in the bed, a look of pure wonder rested on her face. David looked back at Tempe and began to wonder what was wrong with her.

The doctor walked in the room, causing Tempe and David to avert their gaze towards her.

"Hello, Dr. Brennan, I'm Dr. Shaw, how are you?" the woman asked.

"I'm not sure." Tempe answered truthfully looking from David to Booth and noticed sadness in his eyes.

"Well what seems to be the problem?" she asked kindly checking her blood pressure and heart rate.

"I don't seem to remember much, they say David and I are married, but I don't remember."

"Ok, well you tell me what day and year you think it is and I'll tell you if what they say is true."

"Ok, well last I checked it was March 19, 2006."

Dr. Shaw listened as Tempe spoke then started to check on the bruises on her face and began to examine the cuts and scraps on her arms and legs.

"Well, it appears you have amnesia. The date is July 27, 2009. Do you remember anything else?"

"no." Tempe said frustrated and confused that three years of her life had just disappeared.

"Well amnesia is not uncommon in a case like yours, you suffered sever damage to your head and it's a miracle your even awake right now, most people stay in a coma."

"Will her memory ever come back?" Booth asked from Tempe's left side where Angela stood with him.

"It depends, it's up to her. If they do come back they could come back at once or piece by piece, of course in some cases they never remember." Dr. Shaw explained, and then looked to her clipboard. "Other than her memory loss she seems fine and can go home today, I'll be back with the papers in a few minutes."

"How do we help her remember?" Booth asked before the doctor left.

"Take her places she's been, it could bring back memories."

Tempe sat in the bed and looked around her, on her left side was Booth and Angela and on her right David stood looking at her with concern and a hint of something else, something she couldn't put her finger on, it felt like anger.

Tempe watched as Angela and David left the room in search of a nurse to unhook her from the IV and the monitors. She then looked over to Booth and noticed how he looked at her; an odd feeling in her stomach became noticeable as his eyes bore hers down.

"What?" she asked as he starred.

"You don't remember anything?" he asked hoping she could come up with something, anything.

"No, nothing at all. Last thing I remember was working on the Jillian case with you."

"That was three years ago."

"I know."

"I'm sorry Bones I never meant for this to happen."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind, you wouldn't understand." He whispered then walked over to her, placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and walked out of the room.

Tempe sat there paralyzed, why did Booth kiss her again, her hand covered her cheek and quickly she pulled it away as she touched a bruise that rested there. Soon Angela walked back in with some clothes and she helped her change.

An hour and a half later Tempe found herself in a car with David driving to what would be their home together. They hadn't said much to each other after Tempe learned they were married, it was too odd for her to comprehend, how could she marry David?

"So how you feeling Tempie?" David broke the silence while making a right hand turn.

"I'm fine." She mumbled unable to look him in the eyes, so many questions filled her mind, the biggest, how could she do this and why?

"I'm sorry this happened to you, but I'll be here to help you and I know Angela will be there for you too."

"How long have we been married?" Tempe asked out of nowhere, trying to change the topic of her condition.

"A year and a half." He answered proudly.

"And how long have we been dating?"

"We started the first week of April in 2006." He answered pulling into a driveway to a rather large apartment complex.

David got out of the car and grabbed Tempe's things, slowly leading her up the stairs to an apartment door on the fourth floor.

"We bought this six months after we started dating and you just loved it." He said as he opened the door and she walked in.

As Tempe entered the room she found things that represented her and a little bit of what she assumed was David, though it was a little like her old place it screamed 'Foreign' to her. Sitting in the middle of the room was a large couch across from it sat a large TV and book cases.

Behind the couch a table stood with pictures of things and places she remembered and didn't. The one that was most awkward was her and David's wedding photo. Him in a tux and her in a white dress smiling happily at the photographer, but as she starred she could tell she had faked the smile.

In another one Booth, Angela, Hodgins, Zack and her sat at a table all smiling happily and enjoying their time together. As she looked closer she could tell an engagement ring rested on her left finger, but upon a closer look she could be seen holding Booth's right hand, almost as if they shared a secret nobody else knew.

One by one she looked at photos and other personal belongings and one by one she noticed a pattern, with her friends she seemed really happy, but with the pictures of David her smiles were all faked. Finally, at the end of the table, sat one single picture of Tempe and Booth, they sat at a table smiling brightly to the camera and holding hands again.

As Tempe looked at it closely she noticed something she hadn't seen in the other pictures, on her right ring finger sat a gold band with a small diamond in the middle. She pulled the picture away and looked down to the hand and saw that the same ring, it was a beautiful sight and as she starred at it she noticed David watching her.

"you were so happy in those pictures." He stated looking to her. "you'll be that way again, Tempie, I promise." Tempe didn't know what to do so she nodded her head and looked to him.

David just starred at her, transfixed by her appearance, her arms scraped and dry blood covered them, her face had at least three bruises, not including her black eye, yet he still never saw her more beautiful.

"right, so you;ll be sleeping in out room, and seeing as how you can't remember much I'll respect your privacy and take the room down the hall." He said leading her to a hallway and to the room he spoke of.

as she walked in and looked around she noticed a difference in the room and saw how the pictures there were of just the two of them, nobody else. She carefully walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, allowing the foreign object to become more familiar with her.

"right, so you must be tired, I'll just let you sleep and relax. If you need anything I'll be in the kitchen." He said and walked out of the room.

Tempe leaned back on the bed and closed her eyes, desperately seeking sleep and a way out to her nightmare. She silently began to wish everything was a nightmare and that she'd wake up in her office hunched over her desk working on a few files and cases while juggling her book, but Temperance Brennan knew reality and she knew that when she woke up everything would be the same.

Slowly her body relaxed and she drifted to sleep, the days events running through her mind as she analyzed everything that was happening to her.

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Hey um tell me what you think please. I may take a while on updating my stories due to school starting back up and I'm faced with my greatest challenge, GEOMETRY! Oh man is this going to be rough, so please review and I'll try to update asap.


	3. Chapter 3

When Tempe opened her eyes she noticed it was dark out and her head was pounding again as she lay there in the bed. Starring at the ceiling until the pounding faded and her dizziness left, she sat up in her bed and scanned room, taking everything in as she sat there. Slowly her gaze reached the digital clock and she realized it was almost ten at night.

Quietly Tempe crawled out of her bed and walked out into the hallway and as she got out there, she walked down the hall to find the room where David was sleeping soundly in his bed and it was at that moment everything in her told her to run and head home.

As she stood there watching him she realized she couldn't go home because she was home, this was her new home, here, married to David. With that thought in her head she walked back into her room and headed towards the bathroom, desperately seeking a shower.

Once in the bathroom, she locked the door and started to undress, once done she got in the shower and allowed the hot water to relax her tense muscles. As she bathed she soon became aware of how many cuts and bruises she had for every time too much heat hit her, she would jump and try not to yelp in pain.

Once getting cleaned up she made her way out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her body and walked out of the bathroom and to the closet that was unexpectedly full of her clothes.

She searched around and re-entered the bathroom with a pair of grey sweatpants and a red spaghetti strapped shirt. As she dressed she noticed how beat up her face was and slowly followed a big scratch leading from her cheek down her neck and to her upper chest.

Curiously, Tempe took a good look in the mirror and noticed that on her breasts were other marks, but they were unlike the others on her body; these looked like the ones that were made from the passion of love and not from hatred. As she ran her fingertips over the red marks on her she began to wonder how they got there, wishing her memory would come back and give her a sign.

She would have stood there longer had she not heard a movement outside the door, and thinking it was David she dressed and tried to hide the marks. Opening the door she noticed nothing out of the ordinary and quickly walked over to her bed to lie down and relax.

Once her eyes were closed a mental vision passed before the inside of her eyes.

Tempe looked around and saw herself in the mirror, she noticed she was wearing a long white dress and behind her Angela stood wearing as light purple one. Angela stood smiling at her and then moved towards the door and opened it.

Tempe turned around and saw Booth walking towards her, they smiled and spoke a few words, she couldn't hear clearly, but that simple kiss they shared said it all to her. Soon Angela walked back in and pushed them both out of the room.

Tempe then watched as she walked down an isle, holding her brothers arm as everyone stood and watched them walk towards an alter at the end of the walkway. Tempe made eye contact with David standing there smiling at her.

She soon found her way in front of him and listened as a man went over their wedding vows. She searched the crowd that watched her wedding take place and her eyes locked with Booth's, she felt the need to run to him and embrace him, but knew she couldn't.

Tempe opened her eyes and jumped out of her bed, scared of the dream she had. After the shock wore off she walked into her closet and changed into some comfortable clothes and walked downstairs where David was making breakfast.

"Morning Temperance." He said looking up as she entered the kitchen.

"morning." She whispered walking past him where a coffee pot sat. She then began to rummage through the cupboards, finally coming across a mug to pour the coffee in.

"Booth will be by in an hour or so." He said looking up from the paper he was reading.

"Why?" she asked and noticed how his jaw clenched.

"You always spend the days together, he picks you up and takes you to the lab."

"Oh, well alright." She said and finished her coffee.

An hour later Tempe walked outside to see Booth walking towards her.

"Good morning, Bones." He said helping her walk to the car.

"Morning, Booth." She whispered, and then pushed him away. "You don't need to help me walk; I can do that on my own."

"Sorry, Bones." He whispered and made his way to the driver's seat.

"And stop calling me Bones." She said harshly putting her seatbelt on.

"Sorry Brennan."

The rest of the drive was quiet, and Booth explained to her that although there was no real work to be done at the lab, but they were going anyways to jog a few memories and because Angela wouldn't stop asking for her.

As they parked the car, they both got out and headed towards the front door. All the while Tempe noticed a difference in him, but couldn't out a finger on it.

"Booth is something wrong?" she asked looking to him as they reached the doors.

"No, Bones." He said and held the door open for her.

"Are you sure? Because you seem…I don't know, different I guess." She mumbled, but was soon cut off by a loud yelling sound and she turned to see Angela running towards her, embracing her as she got to her side.

"Bren! Oh my god, sweetie, how are you feeling?" she questioned trying to be careful around her.

"I'm fine Ange, how are you?" she asked wondering why she was excited to see her when they were together the day before at the hospital.

"I'm fine, but it's just good to have you back."

Soon Hodgins and Zach were at her side questioning her on her well being.

"Bones?" Booth called her and she looked his way. "I've got a few things to do, so I'll be back in a few hours ok?"

Tempe nodded and headed towards her office, glad to be back in what she would consider a home. She opened up her laptop ready to work on her novel only to find a whole new chapter sitting there.

"So, any memories yet?" Ange asked walking in with some coffee.

"I think I had one last night." Tempe said as if it were nothing. "Do you know what happened to my story?"

"It was published." She said eyes wide. "So what was this memory of?"

"My wedding. Published?"

"yup." She said, then closed the laptop and started to talk. "You can't write until your memory comes back so I need you to tell me everything."

"It was just my wedding Ange, nothing really important. Just David and I giving our vows and such." She said leaving out the part about Booth, in case it didn't happen.

"That's all?" Angela asked her face falling.

"Yeah, why, was there more?"

"No, I was just curious as to what you remembered. So did you tell David?"

"No, I guess I forgot."

"Oh well…" there was an awkward silence until Angela broke it, "So how about we go shopping?"

"Shopping? Ange I'm at work."

"Well actually you don't have work because you're off until your memory comes back and we don't have much to do right now anyways. Before the accident you assigned Zach to clean the bones and Hodgins to examine some dirt."

"Well alright I guess." She said, seeing no harm and followed Angela out of the office and to her car.


	4. Chapter 4

Tempe sat in Angela's car and as they drove to the mall and answered all sorts of annoying questions, all asking about her dream, but she made sure to leave the part about Booth out. As they parked the car and headed towards the mall entrance Angela was explaining how bringing her back would jog a few more memories.

They walked in and to Tempe's surprise the mal laws mostly empty, except for a few people here and there it was clear, most likely because normal people were working while she was forced to shop with her friend.

They walked some distance before Tempe noticed a store and before seeing which one it was she headed over to it and looked inside. Lingerie and other sexy clothing were in the store and a sign in the corner that read 'Victoria Secret' told her where she was.

Tempe walked over to a black lacy garment and starred at it, suddenly a blurry vision made its way into her head.

"So what do you think about this one, sweetie?" Angela asked taking her to the same offit.

"I don't know Ange, it seems a little revealing." She said looking it over.

"Who cares? Booth will make sure your not I nit for long."

"ANGELA!" Tempe screamed.

"What, can't I tell the truth?"

"I don't need to hear this." She said covering her ears and headed towards the exit.

"Wait! Sweetie, just buy something!"

Tempe walked back into the store and grabbed a bra and underwear set from a rack and walked towards the clerks counter, getting ready to pay.

"Bren? Sweetie, you ok?" Angela asked pulling Tempe out of her recent memory.

Tempe looked over to Angela, fear all over her face, she muttered a 'No' and ran for the door and out of the mall running as fast as she could for the car. As she reached the area, she turned to see Angela following not too far behind and began to ask questions.

"What the hell happened in there?"

"I had a memory." She blurted out and got in the car as Angela opened it.

"About what?"

"Never mind, just take me home."

Angela, knowing Tempe was upset about something, didn't ask questions and drove Tempe home. as they reached the house, Tempe got out of the car, mumbled her thanks and walked inside, while Angela drove away with her phone to her ear, most likely calling Booth to tell him not to stop by the museum.

Tempe burst through the front door, stormed through the living room and went directly to her room, ignoring David as he called her name and asked her what was wrong. She was the last person she could talk to and the only person who would tell her everything she wanted to know she had just pushed away.

Tempe paced her room trying to make sense of her memory, wishing something, anything would come back to mind, however, she was pulled out of her thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Go away!" she called.

"Tempie let me in!" the voice demanded, she knew it wasn't David, but also knew it was male.

"I'm busy." She said trying to figure out who it was.

"Tempie let me in." the voice called again and Tempe threw the door open and embraced the man who stood there.

"Russ! I'm so happy to see you." She cried holding him close as if he was her life support and she wanted to live forever.

"Glad to see you Tempie. How have you been?"

"horrible." She said pulling away and letting him in her room, closing the door behind him.

"Yeah I heard about your accident, and Jeeze, it looks like you were hit by a truck." He said touching the bruises on her face she winced a bit and he pulled away.

"I feel worse." She said throwing herself on the bed and smiled when Russ copied her actions on the other side.

They both lay there, feet hanging off the edge and their heads next to one another, cheeks touching and the sibling bond restored. It was quiet for a while as they lay there and Tempe yawned.

"Tired?" he asked noticing she was drifting into sleep.

"Yeah I had a rough night." She half lied; though it had been rough she had received plenty of sleep.

"Why don't I leave and let you get some rest?" he said getting up.

"Don't leave me." she said extending her hand for him to take, surprisingly he picked her up and placed her on the bed right and covered her up.

"I'm not going anywhere; I'm staying here for a while."

"How long?"

"As long as it takes for your memory to come back." He whispered in her ear and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Now, sleep."

Tempe closed her eyes and relaxed as Russ exited the room and headed towards David.

"She's been acting odd lately, you know?"

"Odd how?"

"She doesn't talk to me; I hardly used to see her between work and all. Now she's off of work, but I still hardly see her."

"David, she's going through a rough time. You of all people should know that. Just give her a break and when she begins to remember it will be different."

"Yeah I guess your right."

"What do you say we get something to eat? I'm starving."

"Sounds good. She'll be alright alone though right?"

"She'll be fine she can take care of herself."

Tempe had finally fallen into a deep sleep when she began to dream again. This time she found herself in a bed, but she wasn't alone. Looking up from the bare chest she laid on she saw Booth looking back at her.

"Something wrong?" he asked her his arm that was around her waist stroked her hip.

"You ever think what were doing is wrong?" she asked.

"No, I know it is I don't have to think."

"I was just thinking that's all."

"Do you want to end this?"

"No, I've never been happier than when I'm with you, it's just……if we get caught what will happen?"

"I'm not sure."

She was silent for a while before speaking again. "Just never mind. He'll never find out." She mumbled kissing him softly.

Tempe woke up with a start and found herself sitting up in bed, the room coated in darkness from the night sky and the moonlight shone through the window. What was going on? Where these things dreams? Or memories? She didn't know, but knew someone who did. Tempe lay back down on her bed and closed her eyes, knowing tomorrow she would confront Angela with every question she had.

All updates will take a little longer now seeing as how i'm stuck between school and work, my first job, so please reivew and i'll get back as soon as i have some free time. the more reivews i get will most likely lead to quciker updates, but promises can't be made, except for i'll try. please reivew and thank you all for the ones you've given in the past...much love!


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Tempe woke up early, got ready and rushed out of the house before David could even wake up or before her brother, sleeping on the couch, could try and stop her from leaving. As she left the house and drove to work, so many questions ran through her head and she wanted answers.

As she arrived at the museum, she made her way to her office only to find it was an hour before anyone would get there, so for the next hour she searched through her office looking for things that could help her remember anything at all.

Suddenly she opened a drawer and came across a photo. Booth and her sat at a table at what appeared to be Sid's. It was taken the same night as the other photo of everybody smiling at the camera, she could tell because Booth and her were wearing the same clothes. In the picture it was just the two of them smiling to the photographer kissing each other.

She starred at the picture and dropped it, something in her life wasn't right, something was different and she knew it had to do with Booth and her.

Around eight Tempe heard footsteps and walked out of her office to see a very tired Angela walking towards her.

"Angela!" she yelled walking over to her friend.

"Sweetie, how are you?" she asked offering her a morning hug. "I was so worried after yesterday I tried to call you."

"I turned my cell off and fell asleep after talking to Russ." She explained following her to her office.

"Well at least your brothers here you know?" she asked dropping a small paper bag on the desk. "You hungry?"

Tempe nodded; she had skipped breakfast, and took a bagel Angela handed her.

"Ange?" she questioned sitting on a chair across from her. "I have questions to ask you. I'm ready to talk about yesterday."

"Tell away, I'll help in anyway I can." She said her eyes wide with wonder.

"Is there something going on between Booth and me?"

"What makes you ask that?" she asked almost choking on her bagel.

"I've been having these dreams where Booth and I are together; first he kissed me at my wedding. Then we were in his bed, at least I think it was his bed and then yesterday…" she trialed off.

"What about yesterday?" Angela asked confused.

Normally Tempe would have kept her mouth shut and not said anything at all, but she begged answers and Angela was her only line to memory. So she figured Angela would keep her secrets, like always, and told her everything.

"I was in that store and had…I think it was a memory. You and I were there shopping and you pulled out this one offit and I said something about it being a little revealing and then you said that Booth would make sure it wasn't on for long."

Tempe watched as Angela's face changed colors and she tried not to show any sign's of life.

"Well sweetie, I think you just need to remember a few more things, they'll make sense within time."

"You can't tell me anything?"

"No, we're not allowed to give out too much information on the things you can't remember because it could affect your memory even coming back at all."

"Can you just tell me one thing?" Tempe asked looking down to her ring on her right hand.

"Depends, what is it?"

"Where did this ring come from?" she asked raising her hand to show her the gold band with a diamond in the middle, no doubt real and expensive.

"Booth." Angela said and left her office and walked towards Hodgins as he arrived.

Tempe was in shock, why would Booth give her an expensive ring? Unless everything really did happen. Tempe got up from the chair and walked towards her own office and sat at her desk, looking over the ring on her finger, wanting to pull it off and look at it, but her instincts told her not too.

Tempe looked up from her desk at the sound of footsteps again and locked eyes with Angela.

"You going to be ok, sweetie?" she asked moving over to her and sat across from her.

"I'm not sure, Ange. This is different. I mean usually I have everything under control, but I can't even remember what happened last week." She said lowering her head, she knew this was unlike her, but for the first time since she dealt with her mother's body she felt vulnerable.

"look sweetie, I know what your going through and I want you to know, Booth, Hodgins, Zach, Russ, David and Booth are here for you."

"Thanks Ange." She said and began to pull the ring off of her finger, feeling her confidence return and her fears leave.

"Don't take that off." Angela said placing her hand over Tempe's, holding the ring in place.

"Why not?" she asked confused.

"Why do you want to?" she asked keeping her hand in place.

"I want to look at it, every part of it."

"You better not."

"Why not?"

"Just trust me, ok?"

"Ange unless you have some other reason behind this, I'm going to look at it." Tempe said pulling her hand away.

"Just call Booth first." She said pulling out her cell phone.

"Why?"

"just because, Bren. Trust me on this; just call him before you look at the ring." Angela said handing her the phone and left the office.

Tempe's hand had left the ring and she starred at the phone Angela had given her, it was ringing him up and as she put the phone to her ear she began to wonder why she had to talk to Booth about taking the ring off.

She would have hung up and done it anyways if it hadn't been for her memory lost; maybe he had something to tell her before she did. Again, Tempe felt vulnerable and wondered if she'd ever get her confidence and life back.

"Booth." He said picking up the phone.

"Hi Booth." She whispered unsure of what to say.

"Hey, Bones how are you feeling?"

"Fine. Look I'm calling because Angela wanted me to tell you I'm taking the ring you gave me off of my finger." She said pulling it off.

"What? Why?" he asked, making her place it back on, but only at the tip of her finger.

"I want to examine it, just to get a look at it; maybe by looking it over I could remember something."

"Bones, look I don't want you too, but I know I can't stop you." There was a silence and Tempe now had the ring in her fist. "Have you looked at it yet?"

"No, I'm just holding it, I'm listening to you." She said truthfully.

"ok, well listen to this, I know no matter what I saw you're going to look at it, so just know that whatever you remember or find it's true. It's all true and it never has, nor will ever change." He said.

"Booth what the hell are you talking about?" she asked confused.

"When I get off of the phone look at it, good. Whatever you see it's true, you'll understand." There was another silence and Tempe slowly opened her fist. "I hope you remember." He said then there was a click, letting her know he was gone.

Tempe closed the phone and opened her hand, starring at the ring; it was gold, 14 karats to be precise. The diamond was real; real expensive. She didn't know much about jewelry, but knew enough to know it was worth a lot. Suddenly a few small words caught her eye.

Moving the ring around so she could get a better look, Tempe read what was engraved on the inside. Her heart sank to her stomach and she jumped out of her desk.

"He can't. No." she whispered and walked out of her office, holding the ring in her hand. ANGELA! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" she asked walking over to her best friend, who knew she had seen it, the only thing in her life that was really good.


	6. Chapter 6

"ANGELA!" Tempe called again reaching her friend who stood looking at her confused, or at least trying to.

"Sweetie? What's wrong?" she asked as everybody in the lab looked to her.

"What the hell is this?" she asked showing her the ring as she reached her side.

Angela looked at the inscription that was written, she read it over and over again, not knowing how Tempe would take the news, the first time she saw it she went crazy, was this another repeat.

"Sweetie, I think we need to go to my office." She said as Hodgins told everybody to get back to work.

"No Ange. Just tell me, is this true?"

"Yes, it is, very much so." She said and tried pushing her to the office, only to watch her rest her back against the wall and slid down it to her knees crying.

"Dr. Brennan?" Zach asked looking over to her.

"She's fine Zach." Angela lied, calling Hodgins over.

It was the first time she had ever made a scene in the lab, but due to the circumstances it wasn't unusual, every new development was like a secret blow to the face, and she had already taken enough beatings.

"What should I do with her?" Hodgins asked picking her up with the help of Angela.

"Take her to her office." She said and followed him.

Once inside, Hodgins placed her on her couch, and then left so Angela could talk things over with her. Angela moved over to Tempe and sat on the couch, allowing her friends head to lie on her lap.

"Tell me it's a lie, Ange." She mumbled.

"I can't." she whispered not knowing what to do, Tempe had always been strong, until her memory left, it was like her self confidence and soul and left with it.

"What do I do?"

"Well I'd tell you, but you need to figure that out by yourself."

Tempe lay there on her couch talking to Angela as another memory came to her.

Booth and her were sitting in her office talking about a few things; they had finished up a really hard case and were talking about everything when Booth pulled out the ring. He gave it to her and told her to keep it, sort of like a friendship ring.

She had wondered what had caused him to do such a thing when he opened his mouth to speak.

"I love you." He said flat out, Tempe had lifted her head to face him.

"I'm sorry." She said not sure if she heard him right.

"I said I love you."

"no." she mumbled shaking her head back and forth. "You can't, Booth, you'll leave just like the rest of them." She cried.

They had stood in front of each other, arguing why he loved her, why she said he couldn't. Finally it ended as she walked out of the room and exited the lab. Soon she found herself eating dinner with David and he was talking about how much he enjoyed her company and he was happy they were dating.

Then out of nowhere, he got down on one knee and proposed. Tempe sat there speechless; she didn't know what to say. She was angry at Booth for telling her he loved her, and now David kneeled before her with a ring.

Out of anger and frustration she didn't think and just said yes, knowing that if she lost David somehow she would care as much as loosing Booth. She had agreed to marry him because she didn't love him, which was odd, yes, but her choice.

Tempe was pulled out of her memory and looked back to the ring, written in nice handwriting it read '_Bones-I love you-Booth_.' Booth couldn't love her, if he did she would loose him and how could he still love her after everything she did to him?

So many questions plagued her mind and she knew it would be a while before she knew any of the answers. Slowly she raised her head and placed the ring back on her finger, it was not only a sign of how Booth had felt for her, but of how she felt.

She knew deep down that if she didn't feel the same she would have been rid of the ring and the thoughts of her and Booth wouldn't be roaming through her head. As she starred at the gold band and diamond, she knew her feelings for Booth had always been there, she just never said anything about it because he was always with another woman and she knew that if she loved him he would leave.

"Ange?" she questioned looking over to her quiet friend.

"Yes?"

"Did I ever learn to love him back? I mean I see these pictures where were close and the one with us kissing, I mean was it just something physical or was it love?"

"Oh sweetie." She sighed smiling to her. "It was love."

"Do you think I will ever get that back?"

"I'm sure within time everything will come back and you'll remember."

Tempe nodded her head and smiled hoping she was right. A slight knock at the door pulled her away from her thoughts.

"Hey Dr. B, how are you doing?" Hodgins asked walking in.

"I think ok." she mumbled.

"David's here." He whispered.

Tempe looked frightfully over to Angela, she was married to man she didn't love only because she was mad at the person she did love, she didn't know him, but he still sought some form of love in return. How was she supposed to give him something he never had?

Tempe got off of her couch and walked out of her office to see Russ and David waiting for her. She smiled and followed them as they walked her to the car, it was late, she had been talking to Angela for hours and knew it was near dinner time.

She took a quick glance behind her to see Angela whispering something to Russ; he nodded and soon took his place by her side. She smiled, knowing with her brother close she was safe.

Later that night after dinner Tempe sat up in her room, away from David, with Russ and talked about everything that had happened. To her surprise he knew all there was to know about the relationship and would do all he could to help her remember as well.

After they talked, he left for the couch to sleep while she stood up the whole night looking at the ring. She had a photo of them smiling at the camera on her wedding day and she noticed how happy she was, part of her wanted that back, all of it. She wanted to be happy and not confused.

That night Tempe cried herself to sleep and dreamed.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning when Tempe woke up she noticed her brother was gone and only David remained. She tried to ignore him, but failed as he saw her walking out of her room fully clothed and dressed for something.

"Tempie? You going somewhere?" he asked over his shoulder.

"yeah." She said her body tensing up at his voice. "Booth is coming bye to take me to the lab." It wasn't a complete lie, Booth was coming by, he was just going to get her out of the house.

"ok." he said placing some pancakes on the table. "Just eat something first, please?"

Tempe walked over to the table and sat down, hoping Booth would be there early. She had called him upon waking up and had felt all her fears and confusion leave, she knew they needed to talk and now was the time.

"So, I know we haven't been close and all…" David said sitting across from her. "I understand with your memory, but don't you think you should be talking to me about this stuff? I am after all your husband." He said the word easily, but it still sent a spike through her chest, how on earth could she marry him.

"I just need to spend time with the people I really know. Booth, Angela, Zach and Hodgins give me that because I have worked with them for so long."

"I understand." He said taking a bite of his breakfast. "Have you had any memories at all? We don't talk much any more."

"We never talked much before either." She whispered not knowing what she was saying. Her eyes went wide as the realization hit her.

"What did you say?" he asked looking at her oddly. Did he really hear her? She wondered.

"Nothing, she mumbled stuffing pancakes into her mouth, covering up for her mistake.

"Well it's just I'm worried about you." He continued on. "I mean I feel like I'm living with a stranger and not my wife."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not sure who beat the crap out of me and made me loose my memory." She said getting upset.

"I know, and I'm sorry. Just never mind."

Tempe watched as he got up and rinsed his dish, he then made his way over to her and pulled a chair close, holding her hand as he spoke. His touch sent s chill up her spine and not a good one. The grip was tight and affectionate, but she felt the need to pull it away and wash her hands.

"Just promise me if you remember anything you'll tell me. I miss you and want to be apart of your life."

"I…I…" she trailed off as a horn honked in the distance, she knew it was Booth. He never came to the door, but she didn't know how she knew that. "I got to go."

David sat at the table and watched as Tempe got up from her chair and rushed to the door, then out towards Booth. He sighed and picked up her dish to wash it. A lot had changed in her and he began to wonder if him still being around was a good idea.

"Good morning Bones." Booth said as Tempe got into his car.

"Good morning." She whispered and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. As she pulled away she realized what she did and immediately apologized.

"It's ok, Bones. You're just falling into your old pattern. That's good, showing your memory is coming back."

"Yeah. Sorry again." She quickly said then looked out the window as they drove away.

"So where to?" he asked a few minutes later.

"Anywhere, I just need to get away from home and the lab. I need to think."

"Thinking space I can do." He said and made a sharp left at the light.

Twenty minutes later Tempe found herself sitting in the park next to Booth. It was a quiet empty area and it brought back memories of times in the past. The walked over to a picnic area and the thoughts of Angela, Zach, Hodgins, Booth and her filled her mind as she remembered them laughing over nothing and everything.

"I'm lost Booth, so lost." She whispered. She was still uncomfortable talking to him after reading what the ring said, but Angela wouldn't tell her much and the only other person with answers was Booth.

"You're not lost, Bones. I found you. I'll help you again." He said holding her close, she was vulnerable and he knew it.

"If you loved me and I loved you, why did I marry David?" she asked, the thought had been plaguing her.

"I can only tell you what you told me and at the time it didn't make sense." He looked at her confused.

"Tell me, please?" she starred into his eyes and got lost in them.

"It was a while ago…" he started out as the memories of that day flooded back. "You had been dating David for a while and one day I just got up the courage to tell you how I felt, I actually forgot you were seeing him.

"I told you I loved you and gave you that ring as a friendship ring. You were…scared…I guess is the only way to put it. You yelled at me, saying I couldn't love you because if I did I would leave like everybody else and you couldn't loose me. You stormed out of your office and the next thing I knew you were engaged.

"For days we didn't talk. You ignored me and I you. But finally we spoke and got things cleared up. You told me that if you married me; and something happened you could never forgive yourself. You said that by marrying David it was different it was like being with Russ. Only David could be a little more. You said you didn't love him and that's why you agreed, also because you were mad at me from before."

Tempe looked over to Booth it was like in her vision of the past, but she still didn't know why she had been stupid. The confusion was gone from knowing the truth, but confusion as to why it happened didn't go far.

"Next thing I know you're married and we're together in my apartment having an affair."

"I remembered you kissing me at my wedding." She spoke softly.

"Yeah we were friends again and I was congratulating you on your big day I also told you that no matter what you would always be my Bones."

"How long did the affair last?"

"It never ended. You came home from your honeymoon in a bad mood and you came to me for comfort, next thing I know we're in my bed together. You told me that David could never make you happy and that marrying him was a mistake."

"So why didn't I divorce him?"

"You told me too much trouble to go through, plus he would never allow it and in the end he would just take most of your money you worked for and it was just easier to keep things the way they were."

"Were we ever close? David and I?"

"I think at some point you were, but as the years went by you grew further apart. When he would leave for business trips you would come and stay at my place. You basically live there; you have your own closet full of clothes and shoes. Your make-up and hair things are in my bathroom, it's like we're the married couple."

"I hope I get my life back. I miss it, I feel so lost and empty." She mumbled.

"I'm always here for you Bones." He said and pulled her face close as his lips gently brushed up against hers.

The kiss started out slow, but soon gained passion as the seconds went by, however, it was short lived as her face began to hurt from the bruises.

"sorry." He said checking her. "I swear I'll find the person who hurt you and kill them." He promised and held her close.

Though she was still confused and lost, Tempe knew that for the first time she was going to be ok and that over the last few days she felt safe and warm like her life was finally getting back to normal. They sat there for while before returning to the lab so Tempe could work with Angela while Booth worked on finding the man who hurt her.


	8. Chapter 8

A month had past and Tempe's memory stayed lost, only a few surfaced in the short time. Booth was no closer to finding out who had hurt Tempe, but was determined as ever. Over the last month their relationship had grown a little more, they spent more time together and talked about everything.

It was late one night when Tempe opened the front door to her house and walked in. the room was dark and her mind flooded with thoughts, déjà vu ruled her mind and she felt as if her life had been like this before.

She slowly walked into the kitchen as her mind began to make sense of everything. She froze upon entering the living room and turned feeling something behind her. Her mind blacked out and she saw herself walking into the kitchen again, light from outside told her it was around noon.

She watched herself walk into the kitchen, acting as if nothing was wrong, suddenly she feel to the floor, blood coming from a wound in her head. She watched in horror as the blood splattered onto the walls and she tried to get up. After a few minutes she saw herself on her hands and knees, only to be kicked down by her attacker.

Tempe looked over to the man beating her, but the face was too blurry to make out. She looked back down to herself on the floor and watched as she tried to roll over; she was rewarded by being repeatedly being kicked in the ribs and soon in the face. She threw her arms up to defend her face, but soon her arms fell to her side and she watched as her face was beaten over and over again.

"By the time anyone finds you…" the voice spoke getting up and looked down at her. "You'll be dead." One last kick was made at the side of her head and she watched as she lay there bleeding and unconscious, finding every breath harder to take.

Suddenly her mind replayed the scene and she found herself again walking it to the kitchen only to be hit on the back of the head again. She tried to close her eyes and take the image away, but found it hard seeing as how her mind was replaying the memory.

"Temperance?" the voice whispered behind her making her jump and scream at the sound. "Wow, Tempie, it's ok, it's just me."

Tempe turned around to see David standing a few feet from her, the light in the kitchen had been turned on and he starred at her oddly.

"Are you ok?" he asked walking to her side.

"I'm fine." She lied and turned to her room.

"Wait! Tempie, why don't you and I watch some TV?" he asked trying to get her to stay. "I mean we don't spend much time together any more and I want to be apart of your life and memory."

Tempe stood there confused, she didn't want to be with him, and she wanted Booth. He could help her with the new information and keep her company, but she also knew David was her husband.

"ok." she said walking over to the couch.

David turned the TV on, then sat on one side of the couch while Tempe sat on the other, it wasn't long before sleep over came her and David found himself a pillow to Tempe. He smiled down at her and pushed her hair behind her head. He began to wonder when her memory would come back fully and whether or not things would be better between them.

It was early the next morning when Tempe woke up to the smell of pancakes cooking. The aroma invaded her nostrils, coaxing her to opened her eyes and take in her surroundings. Upon regaining consciousness she found herself on the couch, upon closer inspection she found she had slept there the whole night, no doubt in her mind, with David.

"Good morning sunshine, the earth says 'Hello'." He said happily from the kitchen.

"I don't know what that means." She said looking to him oddly as she got off of the couch.

"It means good morning." He said smiling at her.

"Oh well…good morning to you too." She said walking over to him.

After breakfast, Tempe went to work and studied a few case files Booth had brought her from his office, he was hoping she would recognize her attacker and be able to identify him, but no such luck. After work, Booth dropped her off and home and told her that if she needed anything to call.

As she entered the house again, the feeling overwhelmed her. She saw herself again being attacked on the floor, the blood splattering on the walls to her side, the impact her head had on the floor. She was lucky to be alive. A new addition came with this memory as she found herself reaching for her phone and dialing a number.

"Booth, help." She had whispered faintly before a swift kick came to her side. Her whole body moved with the force and she tried to get up, only to be knocked down again.

Suddenly, the memory faded and she found herself repeating the action, walking into the kitchen only to fall to the floor. It stopped there only to repeat again. Tempe's memory ended and as she entered the kitchen the feeling became too real and as she turned to stop the hit in her memory she ended up stopping a hammer to her head.

Suddenly Tempe was faced with a real life attacker, the one in her memory no longer existed just in her head, but now was real and standing before her very being. As the hammer made contact with her hand she felt the bones brake and tried everything not to scream at the pain.

The hammer was taken from her and thrown to the side as her attacker grabbed her and threw her against the wall, the lights going on in the process. Looking to the man she found him coming at her with a metal object and she soon found it embedded into her stomach, the slick texture was half in and half out of her and as it was pulled out, her body jerked from the force and she watched as her blood fell from the tip.

"Why won't you die?" the man spat in her face.

"How…could…you?" she asked finding it hard to breath.

"You refuse to die." He whispered in her ear.

Tempe sunk to the floor gripping her stomach, trying to keep the blood from spilling out. The man turned his back to her for a moment and she took the opportunity. She fought the pain and jumped up, hitting him over the head with a chair from the table. As he fell to the floor, she ran to her purse and pulled out the phone, dialing a number.

"Booth." The voice said on the other end.

"HELP!" she cried dropping the phone and falling to the floor as the hammer was hit against the back of her skull.

As she hit the floor she could tell she was bleeding badly from the back and the bleeding from her stomach wasn't looking to well for her. The room started spinning from the amount of blood lost and she found it hard to stay awake, but knew she had to. She knew she couldn't let the man win.

"How could you?" she spat out trying to stand, resting her back against the wall, it was now covered in her blood.

"I believe the question is 'how could _you_'?" he asked walking over to her and pulled her face close. "How could you cheat on me?"

"I NEVER LOVED YOU DAVID!" she yelled, clutching her stomach from the pain it brought.

"Well then if I can't have you, nobody can." He said and raised his hand to hit her, however her knee came up, kicking him in between his legs, he fell to the floor screaming in pain.

Soon Tempe was at his side, kicking him repeatedly in the ribs, she could tell a few were broken almost instantly. She stood at his side trying to kill him or hurt him the best she could, but soon she had to stop, the pain in her stomach was too much and the headache was becoming unbearable. As she rested her back against the wall she saw David get off of the floor, bleeding and withdraw a gun from his pocket.

Tempe froze looking at the gun, it was pointed at her. Soon the door busted open and she saw Booth rush in, gun held out and aiming it at David's head.

"Let her go!" he yelled.

"I'm glad you're here you can watch her die, then join her." David said pointing the gun to Booth.

"Temperance! NO!" Booth yelled as Tempe tried to tackle David down, but she saw him face her, the gun lowered a bit, but not by much.

Tempe fell to the floor as she heard a gun shot. She wasn't sure who had fired it, or who had been fired at, but she knew she was shot. The pain ran along her body and she could feel the blood leaking out of her. She didn't know where she was shot at, but knew it would be long before she found out.

Booth rushed to Tempe's side as David fell to the floor, he held her close calling in a paramedic, it would be a miracle if she lived and he knew it. The gash in her stomach was deep, the wound in her head was bleeding profusely and where she had been shot added to the significant amount of blood she had lost.

"I love you, Temperance." He whispered in her ear as she fell limp in his arms.

He leaned over her and cried, lifting his head only to see her hand fall to her side, opening in the process and dropping the ring of David's that had once rested on her finger nicely. She had taken it off sometime during the fight and now it feel on the floor next to her body.

Booth looked behind him and to the dead form of David lying in a pool of his own blood.

"She better not be dead!" he yelled to the lifeless man. "You hear me? You sorry assed bastard!" he yelled giving the man one last kick to the side before he pulled Tempe's body close again and cried.

In the distance sirens could be heard heading towards the house. He knew help was on the way, he just hoped it wasn't too late.

"You here that Bones?" he asked holding her in his arms. "Help is on the way, just please stay with me, please don't leave me." he cried knowing she couldn't hear him. "Please don't leave me, I need you. I'm nothing without you."

The paramedics loaded Tempe into the back of the car and Booth rode with them to the hospital, the whole time holding her hand and refusing to let it go.

Upon arrival she was thrown into surgery while Booth made phone calls to Angela, Hodgins, Zach and Russ. Three hours later, after the surgery and after a bit of Booth's blood, Tempe was placed in a room, heart monitors, blood pressure, IV, everything was plugged up to her. By her side Booth sat holding her hand, while Angela sat by the window next to Russ occasionally Hodgins and Zach would sit in chairs across from them.

Around midnight, Angela, Zach, and Hodgins headed home. Booth had insisted Russ leave too around one, telling him if anything were to happen he would call. After an hour of arguing he finally drove himself home, knowing his sister was safe with Booth.

It was around three thirty when Booth had started to fall asleep, he wanted to stay up, but there was no telling when she would be awake again. As he shut his eyes, the heart monitor went off; the sound of a flat line rang in his ears. Booth jumped up from his chair and rushed into the hallway, calling one of the nurses.

A few minutes later Booth found himself starring in through the glass window as a doctor and several nurses tried to bring her back, her limp body jumping up with every shock of electricity the was forced into her. The monitor stood the same, flat. The long noise was a reminder that she was gone.

Booth picked up his phone and called Russ, he would be there in five minutes. Then Angela was called, big mistake. She was on the phone crying saying she'd call Hodgins and Zach and they'd be by in fifteen minutes.

Booth watched as the love if his life lay lifeless, he prayed she'd be ok, that she'd come out of it alright. He prayed it was a nightmare and that he would wake up with her at his side, but he knew it was reality and Booth broke down, allowing the tears and sorrows to run from his face. She was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

A week had passed from the incident. Booth sat in a chair, one he hadn't left in the whole week, next to the hospital bed. Tempe had been unconscious for the past week, after she had flat lined it had taken the doctors and nurses ten minutes to get her heart started again. Technically, she wasn't supposed to be breathing. Over the past week her heart had given up two other times, resulting in enormous amounts of electricity to be injected into her very being.

In the corner of the room Russ sat playing cards with Zach, Angela and Hodgins while Booth sat holding Tempe's hand, and watching her for any sign of life other then the faint breathing she gave off.

"Got any five's?" Angela asked Russ.

"Gold fish." He said as Angela grabbed a card.

"I'm hungry and could go for some fish." Hodgins said looking over to Booth.

"Me too, why don't we go and get something." Angela said throwing her cards on the table and rising from her seat.

"Good idea." Russ said throwing his cards down as well. "You want anything Booth?"

"no." he answered plainly, his voice dead.

"Sweetie you have to eat something, she wouldn't want you to starve yourself." Angela said walking over to the door.

"We'll get you something and bring it to you. You can choose to eat it if you want." Russ said following Zach and Hodgins to the door.

"Excuse me, but may I speak to the close family members of Temperance Brennan?" a young woman asked stepping through the door past Zach.

"Yes, is something wrong?" Booth asked, his grip tightening around her hand.

"I'm sorry, but I can only answer to close family members." She said giving him a forced smile.

"Well I'm her brother." Russ said waving his hand to Angela, letting her know he'd be with her and the guys in a few minutes.

"Good, could you please come with me then?" she asked walking out the door.

"Well wait, he's her husband." He said stopping her, Booth's face coming to life at the statement. "Don't you think he should know too?"

"Oh yes of course, I just didn't know." She said returning into the room. "I can tell you both here then." She said gesturing for Russ to sit down. "We've received a few tests that were taken after her last flat line and I regret to inform you that if it happens again we can't do anything about it."

"Why not?" Booth asked sternly.

"Well if we inject any more electricity into her body serious damage can be caused to her brain. Also it just might kill her." she spoke softly.

"So if it happens again we can just say good bye?" Booth asked coldly and received a death glare from Russ.

"I'm sorry Mr. Booth, but unless she wakes up soon, we can't do more for your wife." she said and got up to leave.

"Well what do we do know?" Russ asked looking over to his sister.

"We pray she wakes up and soon." He said gripping her hand and gave it a small squeeze.

"I've been doing that for the past week, I don't think it's going to help much." He said and headed for the door.

"Thanks Russ." Booth called after him.

"For what?" he asked popping his head back in.

"For saying she was my wife."

"Booth, to me she is. You're the only man to ever treat her right. It's just a title, you've always been married, no paper needs to say that." He said and left.

"Hey Bones." Booth whispered in her ear. "Baby you need to wake up. I miss having you around. Physically doesn't count, I need you here to talk to. I miss you."

It was silent for a while; her breathing was her only response.

"I want you to wake up so we can get married. I want to spend my life with you and I want the world to know it." He said raising her hand to his lips to brush a gentle kiss on it. "I want you to wake up and be alright." He sat for another fifteen minutes talking to her before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Three days had passed and signs of healing showed. The bruises and bumps from her first beating were long gone and the ones from her most recent were fading away. However the scars would always remain.

It was past mid night when it happened. Angela had gone home earlier to sleep while Zach and Hodgins had stayed an hour later only to leave as well. Russ had stayed until eleven only to leave, positive his sister would be fine. Booth however had stayed, just like every other night. He stayed at her bed side, holding her hand and never once letting go.

Booth lay asleep in his chair as the person beside him gave a soft and faint moan. She didn't know where she was or why she was in pain, but only knew that the hand holding hers was causing her pain.

"Let go." She whispered her voice raspy from the ten days of not using it. She gave a gentle tug only to discover she was weaker than she thought.

Unwillingly, she opened her eyes, the pounding in her head not nearly as bad as it was the last time she was in the hospital. Looking around she found herself connected to Booth as if he was her life support and he wanted to make sure she lived.

"Let go." She said again, tugging a little harder, but finding it hard. Her throat was dry and the demand came out more as a plea.

"I'll never let you go." He whispered, clearly he was still asleep.

"I need my hand back though." She said trying not to smile at his remark.

She watched as his eyes popped open and rested on her. Disbelief ruled his eyes and face as he slowly brought his hand up to brush against her cheek. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel the contact and opened them to see him in shock.

"Are you real?" he asked unsure.

"As real as I'm going to get." She replied smiling at him. "Now can I have my hand back?"

"never." He said and pulled her face close as his lips met hers in a soft and loving kiss, after which he did release her hand.

"Where am I?" she asked looking around the room confused.

"You're in the hospital." He answered getting up from his chair to call a nurse over into the room. "Do you remember anything?"

"I remember everything." She said smiling. "Can I have some water?"

"Of course." He said reaching over to a small tray and poured her a cup of it. "here." He said handing it to her.

"thanks." She said taking a drink of it and handed it back to him as the nurse came rushing in to check her.

"Thank goodness you are alive, Mrs. Booth. We were so worried." She said happily and left the room.

"Mrs. Booth?" she asked once the nurse was gone.

"Russ told her that." He said defensively.

"I thought I dreamed that." She mumbled shrugging it off.

"You heard everything?"

"Well yeah." She answered lying her head back down. "So what happened?"

"What do you mean? I thought you remembered everything."

"I did, but I want to know where I was shot."

"In the leg, it's healed by now. The stitches however need to stay in for another week just to be safe."

"And my head?"

"It seems to be healing well." He answered his hand back at her cheek, stroking it.

She smiled as her hand went from her chest and towards her stomach, it froze and she winced in pain, giving off a small vocal sign of pain.

"That however is still sensitive." He said as she pulled the covers off to look down at herself.

Studying the bandages, she could easily see her whole torso was tightly wrapped and her legs were covered with a pair of hospital pants. She quickly covered back up as a chill entered her body and looked to Booth, dreading the next question that came out of her mouth.

"What happened to David?" she muttered the question, unable to even think of him still alive.

"He's dead, Temperance, and that's all you need to know."

"You shot him." She stated lowering her head. It was silent for a few minutes before she opened her mouth and spoke again. "Thanks."

Booth got up from his chair and left the room without a word leaving Tempe in utter confusion. When he returned a few minutes later he took his seat back at her side and stared into her eyes.

"I did it because I love you and never want to see you hurt again."

"Where did you go?"

"I called Angela and Russ. They'll be here with Hodgins and Zach in a half hour."

"Booth?" she questioned after a long silence between them. "Were you serious?"

"About what?"

"Getting married?"

"Yes. Very serious. I can't seem to live without you. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you." He said watching her facial expressions.

Tempe smiled at Booth, but never said anything else. Slowly she took the ring he had given her off of her right ring finger and placed it on her left. Knowing that's where he meant to place it three years prior when he had first given it to her. A long silence passed between them as they stared the other in the eyes, knowing soon everything would be alright.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been three weeks after Tempe had been released from the hospital. Her bruises and scraps were long gone and her life was returning to what she would have hoped to one day call normal. She had yet to stop by her old apartment where she and David used to live in, apparently her blood still stained the walls and floor and Booth wanted her no where near it.

As Booth had promised his apartment was filled with her things, she had a closet all to herself and found it easy to move in with him. Life was better than she could have ever hoped; she was in love with a man who loved her back and they would soon be married.

"So how are you feeling?" Booth asked Tempe as he looked down at her.

"I'm feeling great." She said from the place where her head rested on his chest as they sat side by side on the couch watching the history channel.

"That's good." he said leaning down and placed a small kiss on her head.

After a few hours of changing between the history channel and the science channel they had both fallen asleep in the others arms. Tempe had never known she could be this happy and Booth never knew that for once things could go his way.

A month and a half later Booth and Tempe were married and off to their honeymoon in Hawaii where they realized that they had missed out so much on their lives with the other because of one stupid mistake.

That night as Tempe lay in Booth's arms she whispered to him how much she loved him and how sorry she was and as Booth held her close he told her she had no reason to be sorry and told her how much he loved her as well.

And for the first time in a long time, Tempe felt happy and she knew that as long as she was with Booth she would never feel any different.


End file.
